Add solo_time_estimate sanity gate (reject >16h, flag 9-16h)

filter rejected GATE reversible: simple 3h proposed 6 Jun 2026

What is the proposed change?

New gate time_estimate_gate.js: hard-reject any proposal with solo_time_estimate>16 with kill_reason='oversized'; emit warning flag (does NOT reject) for 9-16h estimates that lack a 'phases' or 'milestones' sub-structure in proposed_diff (heuristic: regex for 'phase|milestone|step 1|step 2'). Insert gate between genesis and filter_score so oversized proposals never reach argument. Add filter_score axis penalty: -1 on composite_v2 if estimate>=9 and no phase structure detected (composable, not duplicative).

Target files

meta_engine/gates/time_estimate_gate.js meta_engine/moves/filter_score.js

Expected effect

Over 7 cycles, ~5-15% of proposals get hard-rejected as oversized (currently they reach council and waste argument tokens). Graduated proposals' median solo_time_estimate drops from current ~6h to ~4h.

Falsifier — what would prove this wrong?

If <2% of proposals trigger oversized rejection over 7 cycles, the gate is solving a non-problem (genesis already self-limits well) and should be removed.

Evidence that triggered the proposal

D — brain/DESIGN_PRINCIPLES.md (solo-feasibility constraint)
D — brain/MANIFESTO.md v4.0 (deflated/honest)

Proposer self-score

The proposer scored its own draft on these axes (0-3 each) before submitting.

Axis	Score
specificity	3
falsifier	3
solo feasible	3
blast radius	3
composability	3
reversibility	3

Disposition

Rejected by filter_score. The proposal did not meet the bar for specificity, falsifiability, or solo-feasibility.

Evaluation history

When	Move
2026-06-12 04:21	meta_filter_score
2026-06-06 04:03	meta_genesis